A Study in Savagery
by Utashi
Summary: One year after the events of Into Darkness, Khan is awoken again to attend trial for the crimes he committed. His sentence, however, comes as a surprise to him and the rest of the Enterprise crew: rehabilitation on a newly discovered planet, but can Khan give up his violent ways and his goal to reunite with his crew? Mainly Khan/OC with possible Kirk/Spock. Into Darkness spoilers.
1. Trials and Tribulations

**Author's Note: Like a lot of other people, I went to see Star Trek: Into Darkness and absolutely fell in love with it. Furthermore, I am quite the original series Star Trek fan, so I couldn't not write a fanfiction for this. Khan, as you may have guessed, was one of my favorite characters in the movie. Although I'm a huge Star Trek fan, this isn't going to be tightly based on The Wrath of Khan movie or the episode where Khan appears in TOS. I wanted to write something that everyone could read, whether they have seen TOS or just Into Darkness. If you haven't figured it out by now, there will be spoilers for Into Darkness. Don't be surprised if a little Spirk slash also pops up in this story; but for those who don't like it, you can skip it because this story is mostly about Khan and my OC. So I will shut up now, so you can read. As always, favorites, follows, reviews, criticism, comments, etc. are loved, and enjoy!**

Chapter 1

Trials and Tribulations

_Knowing what is to come does nothing to alleviate one's fear of it; likewise, for Lania, knowing the inevitability of the final outcome of her dream did not stop her from trying to alter it. Every time she shut her eyes, she dreamed of a place that was no longer there. Every time she opened them, she wished for parents who, like the building of her dreams, were no longer there, dead and gone and burned so badly that not even their ashes survived._

_ But the building existed now, in her dreams, and so did her parents, for the moment. She stood in the London archive—only later would she find out that it was a top secret part of Starfleet—watching from afar as her parents worked dutifully at their stations, side by side. As always, she was just close enough to her parents to see them, but just far enough to be unable to save them—not that she could move _to_ save them anyway. In every dream, Lania would go on watching them for some time, in vain hopes to preserve some shred of their essence. She stared at them until something else caught her eye, always the same thing, at the same time—before she was ready to say goodbye. _

_ Lania saw the man on the right of her father move. He twisted a ring from his finger and held it over a glass of water as he gazed down into it. _Please don't_, Lania would plead every time, and every time her plea would go unheeded. Though she could not see his face, she knew there were tears staining it—as they now stained hers. Unlike in her other dreams, she did not struggle this time, did not try to break her paralysis and stop the man. She was resigned to her fate, just as her parents were condemned to theirs._

_ As if to corroborate her theory, the man dropped the ring into the glass, and Lania's world exploded. She could do nothing but look on as scathing flames from Hell erupted and consumed everything in their path—the building, the workers, _her parents_. The only thing untouched was their screams. The cacophonous cries of the dying pierced and burned Lania deeper than even the flames could. Above all the noise, Lania heard two voices that plucked at her heartstrings and ripped them from her chest. She saw their agonized faces in the flames as they screamed, "_Lania!_" Then their faces disappeared, and flames and chaos swallowed all._

Lania jolted out of her dream, her hand unconsciously reaching out for people that weren't there. Her breathing was fast and shallow; her body was both burning and freezing, the fire of Hell and the cold ice of space at war with one another.

She blamed _him_ for this, _hated him_ for it. _He_ was the one who had murdered her parents—John Harrison, Khan Noonien Singh. Because of her father's—and therefore hers—close relationship with Admiral Wesley, Marcus's successor, Lania knew more about the incident than did most of the public. She was aware that Khan was a genetically engineered superhuman, woken after three hundred years by Marcus; she knew of the torpedoes and his crew hidden in them, of the war Marcus had wanted, of how the U.S.S. _Enterprise_ had apprehended Khan and stopped him, at great cost. Lania hated him for killing her family, but she quickly found that she also admired him for the lengths he would go for his own.

Lania heard the telltale footfalls of her grandmother and her cane climbing the stairs, and she quickly scrubbed away her tears and composed herself just as the woman entered. _If only pain could be wiped away as easily_.

"Oh, good, you're already awake." The woman's lips crinkled into a smile, and Lania hated it. The pity on her face and in her eyes may as well have been a glowing neon sign for all the subtlety it possessed.

"Stop pretending everything is all right and happy," she said, "because it's not. Nothing's okay anymore and it never will be." Lania willed her tears away. She hated the characteristic that could be found in abundance in herself: weakness.

Her grandmother looked like she wanted to reach out and comfort her, but Lania imagined she realized the futility of the action and changed her mind. "I only came to remind you about the trial today." she said in a conciliatory tone.

Lania looked up, eyes wide. _The trial!_ She must have been more disturbed by her dream than she thought, to have forgotten about Khan's trial. It was agreed after he was captured (again) that a trial for his crimes would be held one year later to allow time for Starfleet to get back on their feet after he had forced them to their knees. Until that time, Khan would once again sleep. Lania was not participating in the trial, but by Admirals Wesley's permission, as a tribute to her parents, she was permitted to attend despite her being under age. She—and everyone else—already knew Khan would die, but she sought closure from seeing him sentenced to death for his crimes, from _watching_ him being marched away to a holding prison, helpless to save himself, as Lania was helpless—in her dreams and in reality—to watch her parents burn.

"Thank you, grandmother." A weary sigh was as close Lania got to a smile.

Her grandmother nodded and left, leaving her as she was, in dream and reality, in mind and soul—utterly, totally, and irrevocably alone.

* * *

Lania checked and double-checked herself in the mirror before they left for the trial. The Admiral and a multitude of other venerable Starfleet personae would be in attendance, and she did not want to embarrass herself or disgrace her parents' memory by looking unkempt.

After her parents' deaths, she never wore her hair down, always keeping it braided or in a conservative bun, but as a last goodbye to those happier days she left it down, allowing the soft, wheat-colored curls to spill around her shoulders and down her back. Though it was not a funeral—there nothing left to bury—she wore a black lace dress, black heels, and a black rose headband. Lania used to think her dark, royal blue eyes were here only redeeming feature, but now they only served to remind her of the starry night skies her father loved and bring her despair.

_Well, I'm as ready as I will be_. To be honest, Lania was apprehensive about seeing Khan in such close proximity. Up to this point, he was only a name to be cursed and hated. He was nothing more than a shadowy figure that had brought darkness down on her own life, and it was odd for Lania to imagine him as a living, breathing person with aspirations and dreams just as she had.

"Lania, you don't want to be late," called her grandfather from downstairs. She took deep breaths to calm her nerves and then jogged outside to join her grandparents climbing in the car.

The London sky overhead was, unsurprisingly, gray and gloomy, and the chrome-colored buildings looked more melancholy than usual as the sky opened up and it began to rain. They passed the plot where the London Archive once stood; Lania noted it remained unchanged since the explosion, nothing but shattered glass, scrap metal, and a sparse layer of ash that had not yet been blown away by the wind. No one yet had the heart to clear away the debris and rebuild it, as though tampering with the site would erase the ghosts of the dead and all their memories of them. Lania whispered a farewell as the car passed on toward its destination, leaving the phantom building behind in the rainy shadows.

When they reached the court hall, masses of people were already congregating both outside on the lawn and indoors, and there were media crews swarming the event with annoying questions and flash photos. Lania wandered away from her grandparents in the crowded halls and eventually stumbled upon Admiral Wesley, dressed in his formal Starfleet uniform decorated with medals and badges.

"If it isn't little Lania Vierin!" he laughed, patting her on the shoulder.

She frowned at the use of the word "little" in reference to her height, no matter how accurate the word may have been. "Hello, Admiral. I trust Starfleet is back on its feet, thanks to your knowledgeable guidance?"

Wesley sheepishly rubbed his head, ruffling his sand brown hair. Lania almost smiled at how human and approachable he seemed in comparison to the late Admiral Marcus. "We're getting there. The _Enterprise_'s repairs have just been completed, and her crew will be leaving on a five year exploration mission."

"They are rather exceptional people, to take down Khan the way they did." Being in Starfleet Academy herself, she regarded the _Enterprise_ crew as something of a role model.

"They're here as witnesses for the trial, if you'd like to meet them." A voice, presumably the judge, came over the intercom to signal the convening of the trial. "_Later_," he amended, giving her a smile before going through a door with the other high-ranking officers.

Lania swallowed the lump in her throat and followed the rest of the crowd into the door meant for the audience. Fortuitously, Lania and her grandparents snagged seats in the front row. She was surprised by how many people showed up, to honor the dead, to give support, or simply to observe out of objective interest.

The Admiral stepped down from the row of officers behind the judge to open the trial with a speech. "It has been one year since John Harrison, a rogue Starfleet agent, destroyed the London Archive and took the lives of 42 innocent workers. One year since Harrison murdered Admiral Marcus, stole his ship, and attacked Starfleet Headquarters." Wesley paused for rhetorical effect, allowing his words to sink in. When he spoke again, his voice began steadily increasing in power and volume. "It has been a trying year, but we are still standing, and we will continue to protect our world—our universe—from criminals and their horrendous acts such as those Harrison committed. Before we begin the trial, I want to honor those killed in the explosion and the attack on Starfleet, the late Admiral, and those who risked and gave their lives to capture and stop Harrison."

After a moment of reverent silence, the judge enumerated the crimes Khan was suspected of (murder, treason, theft, war crimes, crimes against humanity, terrorism), and the bailiff brought out Khan, attended by eight guards. _Superhuman indeed,_ she mused.

Lania intently observed him as he entered the room and was seated. Even her worst nightmares could not conjure such a frightful, sinister beast of a man. He sat so perfectly still, back straight enough to be used as a ruler, hands in his lap, that, close as she was, Lania could not tell if he breathed or not. His narrowed eyes reminded her of mint ice cream, just as green and just as cold. This was a man, Lania thought, with a disposition that belonged among Admiral Wesley and the other influential officers, not in front of her on trial. He seemed too . . . refined, too _classy_ for the brutal acts he had perpetrated, but there he was. The man who killed her parents.

Lania looked away from him only when the judge spoke. "John Harrison, how do you plead?"

There was no answer. Khan did not move, did not even show any sign of having heard the man at all.

"John Harrison—" the judge began again, in a tone that was approaching annoyance.

"I heard you." Khan's sonorous bass voice filled the air, and the size of the open room only amplified the euphoric sound.

"Then answer the question."

"I cannot."

Lania glanced over at her grandparents; both looked just as confused as her. Did this man not understand how a trial worked?

"And why not?" the judge demanded.

Khan seemed to be unaware of the thousands of eyes looking at him with rapt attention. "Because I have committed no crimes."

As shocked gasps rippled throughout the crowd, Lania saw him quirk his lips in the smallest of smiles; it was inconspicuous enough that Lania wondered if her imagination had run away from her again.

The judge lost some of his formality as he allowed his anger to seep through. "You deny murdering those people?"

"No."

"Then you believe murder is not a crime?"

"No." As the judge grew more annoyed by the minute, Khan grew more amused. His eyes relaxed from their hard stare, and Lania saw undisguised mirth in them. Was this man serious? All of the reports she had read on him described him to be a cold, highly intelligent, and determined man, driven unwaveringly by the task at hand, and yet here he was smirking at his own murder trial. Were the reports wrong, or was there more to this man than computer files could tell? She had heard from people who dealt with him firsthand that he was always one step ahead; was this true even now, as his faced his almost assured death?

"Mr. Harrison—"

Khan smoothly interrupted the judge again. "I did what was necessary to protect my family. My people, myself included, are agents of peace, _your honor_. Is that a crime?" For the first time, Khan looked directly at the judge. His eyes, and the temperature in the room, seemed to drop twenty degrees. "Will you convict me—_kill me_—for loyalty?"

Lania was finding it increasingly difficult to hate this man. He had barely spoken, yet already had the audience and their attention in the palm of his hand, herself included. He was magnetic. And he was right—_could_ you kill a man for trying to save his family? Lania understood his perspective; in her dreams, she tried everything she could to save her parents, no matter how irrational. That fact did not change in reality.

"That does not change that you are a cold-blooded murderer! No matter what your motivation may have been, you are a terrorist and a _killer_." The judge was turning an unappealing shade of red. Lania surmised that he had never had his authority challenged before, especially not in front of such a populous crowd, and it was well obvious by now that Khan had very little regard for the law.

"If I held your family with a phaser to their heads, how far would you go to save them?" Khan's voice was softer now, but that didn't make it any less potent. "Would you _kill_ me?" he said, "Or would you uphold your petty laws and allow them to perish?"

Khan and the judge stared each other down, neither willing to be defeated. After a tense silence, the judge said with cold anger, "Do you plead guilty or not guilty?"

"Not guilty."

* * *

After the initial disturbance, the trial proceeded relatively normally. The _Enterprise_ crew served as the main witnesses for questioning, with the addition of those who survived the attack on the senior meeting and any passersby who had seen the archive explosion. The evidence, as expected, was damning. Khan refused a lawyer, and spoke little until he was questioned. He provided no explanation for his actions, but did not deny them. The examiner was clearly put out by his lack of cooperation, but he continued to question the man.

"Mr. Harrison, you repeatedly said your deeds were in protection of your family. What or who were they in danger from?"

The public did not know that Khan's family were super-people sleeping in cryogenic tubes, did not know he was superhuman himself; they did not even know his true identity. And yet despite the advantage of added information that Lania possessed, she was as unable to comprehend the man as the less informed public.

"Admiral Marcus."

"Why was he a danger to them?" the examiner fired back quickly.

"Your Admiral Marcus held my family hostage as leverage to control me. He desired a war with the Klingons; I was the means to help him prepare for and achieve that war. The London Archive was not a records facility, but a research lab to collect data on Earth's enemies and manufacture weapons to destroy them. _That_ is why I blew up the building. All I wanted was my family, and Marcus dead. Everyone else was simply in my way; that is why they died."

Lania was surprised that Khan had begun to cooperate, after being a sassy condescending ass for the majority of the trial. She could only assume that the severity of his present situation had finally sunk in.

The examiner released Khan from the questioning stand. No more witnesses were called, so the judge spoke up again. "If there are no more questions or comments, then the audience will wait in the halls while a verdict is decided." He waited a moment to allow time for people to voice their last minute comments. It seemed that everyone had already made up their minds about Khan's fate, all except for one person.

_Now or never._ Lania knew that if no one defended Khan, he would surely die. And what kind of person _would_ defend a murderer, a monster? He had killed her parents and 40 other archive workers, had _tried_, and failed—thank God—, to destroy Starfleet, killing many more in the process. At least one hundred people were dead because of him, maybe more. There was no doubt in anyone's mind, even Lania's, that he was guilty, but did he deserve to _die?_

Lania glanced at Khan. His eyes were no longer dancing in amusement. He no longer looked like a man who could do anything, who could take on the world and win. His head was tilted down; his eyes stared emptily at his hands. He did not look like the despotic, power-hungry, cruel man she had seen walk into court that morning. He looked _defeated_.

"Very well, then, if—"

"Wait." Lania stood, addressing the judge directly. "I have something to say."

The judge raised an eyebrow, but motioned for her to take the floor.

She turned her back to the judge and accosted audience and jury. "We all know this man is guilty. We know he is a killer, and that he has proved himself extremely dangerous. I am not refuting the evidence, but I cannot sentence to death a man who has done what I would have to save my own family. I cannot sentence a man to die for unconditionally loving his family, for being loyal to them despite the cost to himself. I cannot condemn a man to die for being _human_. This man has killed my family, and here is an opportunity for me to have revenge and let him die. But if I take it, then does that not make me just as guilty—just as much of a monster—as him? This man is guilty, but he does not deserve to die. Dead men cannot correct and learn from their mistakes; dead men have no chance for redemption. Dead men cannot be _forgiven._ Life is about change. Would you take that chance to do so away from him?"

Lania nodded her thanks to everyone present and seated herself again, somewhat dazed and in awe at what she had just done. She had _defended_ a _criminal_. When she looked up, Khan was staring intently at her with his undivided attention. The previous spark of amusement was back in his eyes, and the corners of his lips curled upward in a definite smirk. She felt electrical shocks jolt her skin all over her body now that those magnetic eyes had been turned upon her, full force. She felt like she was alone in the room with him, and it was not a sensation she at all liked. Despite her best efforts, Lania could not shake the feeling that defending Khan was a very grave mistake.

* * *

**Author's Note: I didn't really want to cut the chapter here, but if I didn't it would have been way too long. Let me know what you think! Until next update! :3**


	2. A Private Little War

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone! I'm really sorry that it's taken me this long to update. I got my wisdom teeth out, and it hurts like *insert expletives here.* Hopefully updates will be more often after this (assuming I don't get writers block). I've gotten a very warming reception of this story so far, and I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed, favorited, or followed it! Thanks everyone for your support, and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations!**

* * *

Chapter 2

A Private Little War

By the time the audience was released for a much needed intermission, everyone was grateful, no one more so than Lania. Anything to get away from Khan and his . . . _distracting_ eyes. The crowd was tense and restless; people paced up and down the halls, stretched, snuck out front for a smoke or some fresh air. And, of course, they _talked_. Well, some talked; others argued and shouted to have their opinions heard above someone else's. Through the windows Lania could see a few rows outside come to blows.

Lania herself was silent, sitting on a bench away from the commotion and listening to snippets of people's conversations. No one spoke of Khan's state of guilt, or lack of; in that respect, at least, the audience's opinion was unanimous. What they differed on was his punishment. About half advocated the death penalty, and the other half pressed for a less severe form of correction, ranging from mental therapy to public service to prison sentences. Many discussed Lania's speech, opinions of which were also roughly split. In truth, she was embarrassed by the unwanted attention she had attracted. _So much for an impartial observer. _She had promised Wesley that she would try to behave, and, well, she did _try_.

"Hello."

Lania glanced up, not exactly startled but at the very least disconcerted, to see who greeted her. There was a young man standing before her, clothed in a blue Starfleet uniform. _So, a science officer._ Judging by his ears and eyebrows, his heritage was clearly Vulcan. His face was faintly familiar—the black hair, the deep brown eyes—like an old memory she had seen from somewhere before, but could not quite recall.

The Vulcan inclined his head in a polite greeting, but he did not offer her his hand. Lania was not offended; she knew that in Vulcan culture touching was an honor reserved for special situations, unlike with humans. "My name is—"

"Lieutenant Commander Spock, First Officer aboard the U.S.S. _Enterprise_." Lania recognized him at the last second. He had shown up frequently in reports on Khan and in the news; he was almost as publicized as James T. Kirk himself.

If Spock was surprised that she knew him, he, naturally, gave no sign of it. Lania rose from the bench and returned Spock's gesture of deference by dipping her head as well. "I'm Lania Vierin, a senior in Starfleet Academy. It is a privilege to meet a man who played such an instrumental role in Khan's downfall."

After a motion inquiring permission to join her, Spock sat, Lania following suit. "You gave a meritorious speech in court today." Lania flushed a pleased shade of pink upon being praised by a man she held in such high esteem. "I, too, champion the logical, moral solution to any situation, this case being no exception. However, as I am to understand that your parents were killed by Khan, is it not illogical, from the human perspective, that you defended their killer, rather than indulging in the emotional need to avenge their deaths? Tell me, _why_ did you stand up for him?"

Lania hummed in disapproval of Spock's question. It was a query she had already asked herself, one she had hoped to avert answering for as long as possible, for to find the veracious, _real_ answer was to delve deep into the undisturbed depths of her heart and mind, something she was not eager or prepared to do.

She began speaking slowly, less sure of herself than she had been in the court room. She could only partially attribute this lapse in confidence to the fact that she was conversing with one of her role models. "I was close enough to Khan to see—_really see_—his face. I watched throughout the trial as his arrogance and strength gradually but noticeably wilted away, leaving behind only a shell of the great, powerful man he had once been. By the time last comments were called, Khan was as changed a man as Ebenezer Scrooge. There was a look of such absolute, abject defeat upon his face that even I, blinded by rage and grief as I was, could see it. He was no longer a killer to me, but simply a man who had gambled everything to save his family, and who had lost."

Lania fell silent for a moment, groping her way through her disjointed thoughts in search of what she wanted to say next. She had not meant to reveal nearly this much, but her feelings tumbled out of her like boulders in a rockslide. Hearing the words spoken aloud helped Lania grasp the reality of the situation. Still, what she _had_ said only timidly dipped a toe into a much more complex ocean of thoughts. Lania had considered the possibility that Khan was deceiving her, but she found that she did not care one way or the other. Real or faked, there was emotion on his face—pain, regret, _caring. _That was enough for Lania to let him live. It showed that Khan was not an icy killing machine, as everyone believed, but a _person_ with a heart that felt, with a mind that _thought_, not that was programmed, and it meant that his heart and mind could be reconditioned. It meant that there was hope for him; even if no one else believed in him, Lania did—or was beginning to—and she wanted to show him that.

"I do not forgive Khan for what he has done," Lania continued, "I do not know that I ever _can_. But I could not let him die, knowing that it would change nothing."

When a considerable length of time passed in silence between the two of them, Lania began to feel a creeping sense of abashment. Here she was, rambling on about her emotions to a _Vulcan_, of all people. Well, _half-_Vulcan, but that did nothing to mitigate her increasing feeling of ridiculousness.

Lania could not prevent an audible release of breath from escaping her when Spock finally spoke. "I must commend you on your impeccable display of reasoning. Twice you have shown your ability to transcend the emotional irrationality of your species and inject logic into the situation."

She was robbed the chance of response as James Kirk rushed across the hall towards them, shouting "Spock!" Perhaps it was just as well that she was spared replying; after having her intellect complimented by a Vulcan, Lania did not trust in her ability not to make a fool of herself.

"Spock, I've been looking all over for you." Kirk complained, casting a disapproving look at the stone-faced Vulcan.

"Oh!" Kirk exclaimed as he belatedly took notice of Lania. "Aren't you the girl that defended Khan?"

_Is this how I will be known, simply as "the girl who defended Khan"? _Lania responded in the affirmative, introduced herself, and exchanged pleasantries with the captain.

Kirk flashed Lania a womanizing smile that had about as much effect on her as a glass of water on a wildfire. "I'm—"

"Yes, I know very well who _you_ are, James Tiberius Kirk." Lania smirked up at him. "Your reputation precedes you."

Even though her statement was not meant as a compliment, Kirk looked elated. "So," he said, trying to look cool by leaning against the wall next to Lania, "is my reputation good?"

Lania rolled her eyes. She failed to see how this "smooth" (or so _he_ thought) playboy could come to be captain of _any_ starship, let alone the one that had taken down Khan. "If by 'good' you mean interesting, then certainly," Lania said, "But if you meant morally efficient, then, no, definitely not."

The dejected look on Kirk's face was nearly enough to make Lania laugh—something she had not done in a very long time.

"Spock," Kirk whispered, "can you give us a minute?"

That was peculiar; what could the captain of the _Enterprise_ want with Lania? Nevertheless, Spock obliged and politely excused himself, fading into the crowd. Lania was almost sad to see him go.

As soon as Spock was gone, Kirk dropped his goofy smile and placed his hands on Lania's shoulders, eyes serious. "I need to talk to you about your speech."

She groaned. "Not this again."

"Listen to me. Lania, you have to recant your statement."

"Why?" Although she herself did not fully understand why she protected Khan, she _did_ understand enough to know that she did not _want_ him to die. Lania felt that Kirk was making her insignificant comment into something bigger than it actually was. The chances of her speech having an effect on the verdict were very slim, and she had known that even as she had stood up to speak. But she also knew that if she said nothing then she could not face Khan's death without the guilt of having failed to attempt to prevent it. Now, no matter which way the chips fell, her conscience would at least be clean.

"I have experienced Khan's nature firsthand," said Kirk, "Believe me when I tell you that Khan Noonien Singh is singlehandedly the most dangerous, fearsome man in the universe. He is cunning, merciless, and amoral enough to terrify Machiavelli himself. That man deserves nothing short of death." Kirk's voice was steely and stern, the voice of a true starship captain.

"You had authorization to eliminate Khan on Kronos. If what you say is true, why is he still alive?"

Kirk snorted. "That was a mistake. That damn pointy-eared bastard Spock convinced me that it was against Starfleet regulation to kill a man without a trial, so I captured Khan and took him aboard the _Enterprise_. He manipulated me—he used my emotions against me and toyed with my conscience. I played right into his hand, and it almost cost every crew member aboard the ship their lives." The regret was etched plainly onto his face. Lania could tell he was sincere. "Don't you see, Lania? He's tricking you now! He's twisting your feelings and _lying_ to you." Kirk dropped his voice. "I'm begging you: Don't make the same mistake I did. Recant your statement and let that son of a bitch burn."

Kirk raised his eyebrows at Lania, as though to say "Think about it." Then he shrugged his shoulders and disappeared into the crowd to relocate Spock.

So Khan was lying. Good, good, there was no longer any doubt about that—not that Lania had had much doubt about it in the first place. Lania was actually _relieved_ that he had tried to deceive her. It proved that her data on him was perfectly on par with his actions. There was precedent for his behavior; therefore, he became predictable. Lania was beginning to understand him, not as information scrolling on a screen, but as a person. He claimed to be better, but in reality he was nothing more than an enhanced human being. They shared the same roots, and, if Lania could get past their differences and discover those roots, she could find the source of the problem, and, with luck, cure it. Khan liked to stay one step ahead. All Lania had to do to beat him was stay two steps ahead; of course these things were easier said than done. She had caught him lying, so she at least knew she was capable of _keeping up_ with Khan. That was a start, but would it be enough?

It only just occurred to Lania that perhaps Khan did not wish to be helped, to be . . . _fixed._ He said it himself: in his eyes he had done nothing wrong. He was not broken, so why would he accept her invitation to fix him? Why would he allow her to turn him into a normal, functioning member of humanity when he was blessed to belong to something more, something _better_? And _why_, for that matter, did Lania _want_ to give him aide? One does not play around with rattlesnakes, yet there Lania was. Khan had already demonstrated his prowess as a killer, on her own parents no less, yet there Lania was. What was making it so difficult for Lania to leave Khan alone, to let him die when he plainly deserved it?

The answer struck Lania so precipitately that it made her nauseous. It was not a question of morals, nor had it ever been. She had not stood up for him because it was the _right_ thing to do, for the right thing would have been to stay silent and allow him to die. Her ambivalence over the matter did not stem from whether Khan _deserved_ to live or die, but rather originated in the war that she fought between her former and current self. There was a part of herself from her previous life that still lingered, the pure, righteous part of her that walked the high road and demanded that Khan die for his transgressions. That was the part of her that wanted him to pay for the death of her parents. Then there was the rest of her, the jaded, cynical Lania that had emerged one year ago from the flames and darkness Khan left in his wake. This was the part of her that overlooked the blood on Khan's hands and the lies on his lips—the part that defended his life, for did not this _new_ Lania owe him hers? It was he who had cultivated the hatred in her heart; it was the pain _he_ caused that had dissolved away the optimistic, foolish girl she once was. Without the hatred she harbored for him, she would have been no one. Her hatred kept her strong, kept the pain from consuming her and plunging her into depression. Khan became the scapegoat for her hatred, her anger, sadness, and pain, for everything that went wrong in her life; if she killed the scapegoat, she killed her emotions, too, and if you didn't feel anything—anything at all—then you weren't any different from someone who was dead. If Lania recanted her statement and advocated the death penalty, then she was sentencing herself to death as well.

Lania at last decided which side of herself to listen to, but it would require she change the count of the number of people who had died in the explosion. _43 people. 43 people were killed that day, then._

* * *

It was not long after Lania had finished sifting through her thoughts that Admiral Wesley snuck out of the court room and discretely inched toward her. Sometimes Lania questioned how the ridiculously silly man came to be an Admiral, and a very good one at that.

"I need you in there." Wesley jerked his head in the direction of the court room.

Since when did presiding officers consult a Starfleet Academy cadet in court, or anywhere? "What for?" Lania asked with a skeptical quirk of an eyebrow.

He did not answer her question; instead, Wesley ushered Lania back into the court room with promises that everything would come to light momentarily.

The room was empty save for the judge, jury panel, and a nominal amount of Starfleet officials. Khan was nowhere to be found.

"Young lady," said the judge as Lania entered and took a seat, "the jury has already decided upon a verdict. Do you maintain or abjure the statement you made in court today, that Khan should not receive the death penalty?"

This was her last and only chance. She could be wise and retract her statement, say she had thought better of it and changed her mind. She could turn her back on Khan and let him die. There was still a chance for her to try to overcome her loss and return to her old life.

"I . . ." There was still time to leave the snake be, before she was bitten. She could walk away from it all now without any devastating repercussions. "I maintain my statement, your honor."

She did not want to go back. What kind of life was that to return to? Filled with ignorance and weakness and nothing but happiness. Filled with _lies_.

Lania could tell the judge wanted to challenge her position, but he did not push it. "Fine." he exhaled in frustration. "It is out of my hands now. Starfleet will decide his punishment."

"So, Lania, what did you have in mind for Khan's sentence?" Wesley interjected cheerfully, as if they were casually discussing the weather over cake and ice cream.

Lania crossed her arms, barely fighting back the urge to respond with "You're joking." Just because she defended Khan did not make her his nanny all of a sudden. "That isn't my responsibility."

"No, you're right, it's not." Wesley grinned like a chesire cat high on drugs. "But, as of now, Khan _is_ your responsibility."

Lania choked on her words, and her vision went black for a split second. "Would you care to run that by me once more?" Wesley was known for his jokes and farces, but _this_ was too far. It angered her that he was handling this . . . this world-renowned murderer and terrorist so lightly.

An amused smile stayed on Wesley's face throughout the entirety of his explanation. "Before you came in, we were already discussing what to do with Khan. We couldn't get rid of him by shipping him off to a penal colony, as he would most probably harbor a grudge and attempt revenge upon his eventual release or escape. We discarded the notion of public service for obvious reasons. The most convenient course of action would be to kill him. Thanks to you and your quite influential speech, however, that is no longer an option. About half the jury and many of the officers voted against the death penalty. Therefore, we chose the only action left available to us: rehabilitation."

Lania had an inkling of where this was going, and she didn't like it.

"Since you were the main cause of this massive inconvenience, it is only logical that _you _will be the one entrusted with rehabilitating Khan."

"I'm not qualified to do so!" she protested.

"You are majoring in psychology and cognitive and behavioral therapy at the Academy; you're at the top of your class."

Damn, he had her there. Lania scrambled to come up with another excuse. "I haven't graduated yet. I haven't had any _actual_ work with patients. Wouldn't you prefer a professional?"

"Graduating two months early won't debilitate you. One can only learn so much from computers and simulations in a classroom. Besides, there is a first time for everything, and hands-on experience is invaluable, wouldn't you agree?"

"No."

Wesley pretended not to hear her. "Great, glad we're on the same page. We'll reconvene the court to give Khan his sentence, and then it's off to San Francisco with you for graduation!"

If this trial was for Khan, then why did Lania feel like she was the one being punished?

* * *

As Khan was marched back into the court room, Lania took deliberate care to avoid looking at him, especially his eyes. God knew she would have plenty of time to study him up close in the near future. She was more than a little peeved about getting stuck with Khan. She had wanted to help, him, true, but _this_ was not the way she had planned to do it. All she wanted to do was study him from afar, recording notes and analyzing him. She thought, maybe, once she graduated, that she could work under highly trained, elite specialists to help _them_ help Khan. In sum, she only wanted to give him the opportunity to be helped; never once did Lania imagine herself as the one to rehabilitate him. She did not trust herself around the man; she was too biased—too emotionally compromised—to work with him. Even now, she could not keep her mind completely objective. From the moment she first saw him, she had begun to develop a "clinical" interest in the superhuman. As far as patients went, he was intriguing, and finding out how that beautifully intelligent mind ticked would be nothing short of a grueling challenge. Having lived a pampered, privileged life up until a year ago, Lania wondered if she had the willpower to complete the daunting task set before her.

"John Harrison," Lania heard the judge say as she tuned back in to the proceedings of the trial, "the court has found you guilty of all charges. As punishment, you will be transferred to Elias III, a recently established mental rehabilitation planet, and you will receive therapy there. Dr. Lania Vierin, your personal specialist, and yourself will travel to Elias onboard the U.S.S. _Enterprise_. Your sentence is effective immediately, and travel will commence once preparations are completed. The penalty for failure to cooperate is death."

Lania giggled quietly to herself. She could not help it; the thought of being Khan's "personal specialist" was laughable. She was unable to even mentally care for herself. How on earth was she going to fix _Khan?_

"Court dismissed." the judge tapped his gavel and the audience dispersed, feeding out of the exits and chattering about the outcome of the day's events among themselves.

Lania sent her grandparents on ahead to the car while she waited for the room to clear out so she could speak to the Admiral. Khan and his entourage of guards were the last to exit. He tarried for a brief moment, his eyes boring straight into Lania's as they had earlier that afternoon. There was no emotion in them, at least none that could Lania could detect. What did he want?

Ever so slightly, Lania saw him incline his head toward her. "_Doctor_," he breathed coolly before turning and allowing himself to be escorted from the room. Lania tried her best not to shiver, out of repulsion or delight.

"Ah, Lania, did you need something?" Wesley said a quick goodbye to his fellow Starfleet officers and made his way over to Lania.

"What are you going to do about Khan's family? Surely you do not intend to leave them here, for someone else like Marcus to stumble upon?" The thought of 72 more people like Khan was one Lania could not bear. She hoped to never find out what that many superhumans were capable of.

"No, they won't be remaining here. I am disguising them as cargo and beaming them aboard the _Enterprise_. Kirk will have orders to discard them on the most desolate planet that is as far from civilization as possible." Wesley looked at Lania hard in the eyes. "Under no circumstances are you to inform anyone about this, understand?"

Lania nodded. It was a secret she would be more than willing to carry to her grave if it would keep any more of those bastards from being woken up.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, _I_ have a meeting to attend, and _you _have packing to do. Your plane leaves this evening."

* * *

Packing provided Lania with a plausible excuse for some much-needed alone time. On arriving home, Lania had flown up the stairs and sealed herself in her room without so much as a word to her grandparents. She did not want to talk about Khan or the trial; unfortunately, it seemed that was all her grandparents wanted to discuss. Lania was lucky to avoid conversation in the car by feigning a headache, but they would only fall for that lie so many times.

_Clothes—check. Shoes—check. _Seeing as packing was a purely physical action, Lania's mind was left to its own devices. Her thoughts wandered, back to a time in the recent past. It felt like just yesterday that Lania had been unpacking and getting acquainted with her new life in London. Had it really been two years since her parents were transferred from San Francisco to London? That meant they had only worked at the Archive for a year before they were killed. After their deaths, her grandparents moved in, and Lania lived with them for a year. Now, it seemed, it was time to move again. Lania was not upset about having to leave, quite the opposite, in fact; she loved her grandparents, of course, but they would never be able to fill the vacuum in her heart that her parents' deaths had created. Right now, Lania desired nothing more than a fresh start, a new tabula rasa unmarred by the experiences of her old life. She knew who she _had been_ when her parents were alive. The current task before her was to learn who she was _now_, and sticking around wallowing in the memories of her past was not the way to do it.  
It did not take Lania long to finish packing her clothes. The hard, more time consuming part was deciding what books to take with her. She had been amassing a considerable collection of the relics since her childhood, and she never traveled anywhere without her favorites. It was lamentable that sustaining a library, of any size, aboard the _Enterprise _was virtually impossible. Therefore, with great reluctance, Lania sorted through her collection, picking out fifty of the paper gems that she could not do without. She would simply have to entrust the rest to her grandparents' care until she returned from Elias III.

_There, done._ Lania topped off her packing by placing an old-style photograph of her parents in her suitcase and zipping it up.

Just as she finished there was a knock on the door.

"Grandmother." Lania let the woman in, feeling somewhat at odds around her. She never was good with goodbyes.

Luckily, farewells did not appear to be on her grandmother's mind at the moment. "I know why you did it—why you defended that man."

"Do you?" Lania sat down on the edge of her bed, and, to her chagrin, her grandmother did as well. That implied a long conversation.

"You're just like your mother, always doing the right thing. You couldn't let him die because you've already forgiven him. There was no reason for him to die for his sins because, in your eyes, youhad already pardoned him." The woman looked pleased that she figured it out all on her own. Too bad she was wrong. "I know you better than you think, Lania."

_Maybe you used to, but not anymore. _"That's _not_ why I did it. You really don't know anything about me. Hell, _I_ don't know anything about myself, not anymore. That's what I have to find out." Lania held her grandmother's hands in hers as a sign of a truce between them. There was no use in her leaving angry with her grandmother, hating her. "I'm a young woman with enough mental and emotional baggage to weigh down a starship. I know you didn't ask for this, to have to carry the burden of your own grief and that of a grieving child as well. For that, I am sorry."

Lania's grandmother kissed her on the forehead. "You are my granddaughter, and I support you, no matter who you _were_, _are_, _or_ _will be_. I give you my best wishes on your journey, and send you off with one piece of advice. Do not go hopping around the galaxy to _find_ yourself, but rather to _meet_ and _get to know_ yourself."

After saying her final goodbyes, Lania drove to the airport where she met Wesley waiting for her outside her private plane. Why he had insisted on a private flight was beyond her knowledge.

"Come on, then." Lania called, walking toward the plane.

"Oh, _I'm_ not going with you. I'll be flying in tomorrow morning before the ceremony." Wesley held his hands behind his back, rolling back and forth on his feet.

Lania stopped a few feet from the ramp leading up to the door. "In that case, why book a private plane for just one passenger?"

"Two," Wesley corrected, "two people."

"All right . . . Then, who else is flying with me?"

"Khan."

* * *

**Author's Note: Wow, that was a very long chapter! Consider it an apology for updating late. This one was kind of hard for me to get out; I hated it and actually rewrote it a couple of times. I still hate it actually. I know that there isn't much of Khan in here, but I promise that the next chapter is pretty much nothing but Khan! I wanted to explore Lania's character a little deeper before I took off with the story, and that's what I **_**tried**_** to do in this chapter. She's very confused over Khan, isn't she? Her thoughts about him kind of… evolve. In the previous chapter, when she was defending him, she was beginning to see him as a person she could sort of relate with. In this chapter, she tries to arrive at a deeper understanding of him and **_**why**_** she wanted him to live, and she eventually does understand that because of him she's a completely different person from the one she used to be when her parents were alive. I'm sorry if that seemed kind of confusing, but I wanted to capture Lania's thought processes and what she thought about Khan and how it changed as the trial went on. So, I think that's about it, thanks for reading; I hope you continue to enjoy this story and leave reviews, and see you next chapter!**


	3. A Star to Steer Her By: Part 1

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay guys; I've been kind of busy lately, and I also wanted to make sure that I wrote Khan as best as I could (which is actually rather quite difficult). Plus, it was Father's Day this weekend, and that took up a lot of writing time as well. I just want to get a few things out of the way before I begin the chapter. 1) I've noticed that my chapters have been getting progressively longer, and I do apologize for that. To prevent monster chapters, I'll probably cap the word limit at about 5,000 to 5,500 words, and you can also expect no less than 3,000 words per chapter. That being said, the chapter I'm working on now is a lot longer than that, so I had to cut it in half. This is the first part, and the second part will be in the next installment, probably in about a week, give or take some days. 2) As you know, Lania is flying from London to San Franciso in this chapter. I looked it up, and the flight normally takes between 10 and 13 hours. Since this is with our current technology in 2013, I reduced the flight time to 8 hours because I'm working on the fact that their technology is a hell of a lot better and more efficient than ours. 3) I'd also like to address reviews and reply to ones that necessitate an answer. Thank you everyone for your support, and I hope you continue to voice your opinions in the future; your reviews literally make my day. **

**To MugglebornPrincesa: They aren't actually shipping off Khan's crew to die; they're only moving them to a more secure place so that it will be less likely for anyone to find them. It's sort of like the hangar they put them in at the end of the movie, just a lot farther away. Additionally, I don't know if you've seen the episode in TOS about Khan (Space Seed) or The Wrath of Khan, but Khan's crew **_**did**_** kill people as well, and I'm pretty sure Khan said as much in the Into Darkness movie. Before they went to sleep, Khan and his crew were committing genocide against any species or race that they thought were inferior. So, yeah, they were condemned before they went to sleep as criminals; they definitely aren't innocent. **

**I'll shut up now, and, without further ado, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 3

A Star to Steer Her By—Part 1

Lania sat stiffly in her seat, hunched over her PADD reading a book on treatment methods for psychopaths. She'd read it before, back in the Academy, but she thought it wise to have a refresher course, considering just who she was dealing with. However, despite her well-meaning attempts, Lania was on the same page she had been on three hours ago when the flight started. She was distracted. Khan was on the opposite end of the plane, but Lania still couldn't concentrate. And anyway, she had quickly decided her time would be better spent preparing a plan of action in the event that they engaged in conversation, an occurrence that was quite probable, given that five hours of the flight remained and they were to share the same hotel.

First and foremost, Lania determined that it was imperative she gain his trust. Without it, treating Khan would be calculatedly impossible. At the same time, Lania needed to collect as much empirical data from him as possible. Computer files and secondary-source information would suffice for a historian, but were altogether inadequate tools for a psychologist. Lania needed information not provided in textbooks and databases—behavioral patters, thoughts, emotions, past experiences.

On top of this, Lania was gravely aware that she would need to try to reveal as little as possible about herself. Uninformed, Khan was dangerous enough; _with_ information, he had the ability to ruthlessly exploit his enemies' weaknesses, to prey on their fears and twist their words. It was a skill Lania knew he would not hesitate to use to force his way ahead and achieve his goals. That only left her with one option for retaliation: be on guard and stay ahead. That was the only chance she had at treating Khan, and at staying alive.

And, make no mistake, Lania was hell-bent on rehabilitating him: She would either succeed or die trying. Even with the cutting-edge medicine and technology of the day, some of the world still believed that psychopaths could not be treated. If Lania, a cadet fresh out of the Academy, could successfully remedy _Khan_, then her psychology career could see unprecedented levels of prestige. And if she failed—well, there was no sense in tainting the endeavor with thoughts of potential failure and its consequences.

Lania exited out of the book she had been "reading." It was useless to pretend to work, knowing that she was too edgy to focus. As she moved to retrieve her headphones from her bag, Lania saw a malefic shadow looming in the recesses of her peripheral vision. From her present view, it looked subhuman. What _was_ that?

Lania didn't move her body, but she imperceptibly twisted her head to get a more direct line of sight of the . . . thing. Whatever _it_ was, it was moving toward her. She unclipped a phaser from a belt hidden underneath her jacket, set it for stun, and turned to face the creature.

The weapon clattered to the floor as she let out a small shriek and her hands flew to her accelerated heart. The figure was Khan.

"Are you all right, Doctor?" one of six security guards asked as they came rushing toward her from the same direction as Khan.

She held up a hand to stop them. "Nothing is amiss. He only startled me." Lania hated that her voice trembled in spite of her efforts to steady it. She had not wanted her first impression on Khan to be one of weakness.

The guards sheathed their phasers and dispersed. Two sat in the row of seats across the aisle, two sat behind Lania, and the other two staked out behind Khan, who just occupied the seat in front of the soon-to-be doctor. They tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, pretending to gaze out the window or fiddle with their PADDs, but their presence stuck out like a sore thumb, even though they were disguised in casual clothing to better blend in.

Lania bent down slowly to retrieve the fallen phaser, keeping her eyes trained warily on Khan in case he tried anything. Sure enough, as soon as her hand made contact with the cold metal, the Augment's foot came crashing down on her fingers. It was not yet painful, but Lania assumed it would become so if she did not comply with Khan's wishes. She tightened her hold on the weapon, and he responded in kind by pressing his foot down on her hand. The pain was like having her fingers stomped on by rambunctious, hyper-active children when she was in grade school, but that pain was utterly negligible compared to what she felt now. A glance across the aisle told Lania she was on her own. _Of all the inopportune times for them not to pay attention. _Calling out was useless; Khan could break her hand as quickly as she could scream.

With reluctance she released the phaser. Losing her hand over this was foolish, as she had smartly opted to arm herself with more than one weapon. Khan removed his foot, snatched up the phaser, and crushed it in his hand, a pleased light flickering in his eyes all the while.

"Mr. Harrison." Lania greeted stiffly, outwardly unimpressed with his display of physical dominance. That much she could have gleaned on her own from his files, and the _Enterprise_ crew could attest to its credibility. The action was unnecessary, and from that fact alone even Watson could deduce that Khan was attempting to intimidate her.

Lania allowed her eyes to roam over Khan's body, a gesture of pure clinical observance, of course. He was as menacing as he was aesthetically pleasing. His outfit was nothing more than a standard black uniform; yet somehow he managed to make the average clothes foreboding and otherworldly, infamous even. He stood nearly a foot taller than Lania, a detail she had a feeling he would not let her forget. Though the man was lean, bordering slim, it did not make him any less imposing. Whereas most men were a good balance of meat and muscle, Khan was almost solely muscle. The muscles and tendons in his arms and chest showed through the thin fabric of his shirt, and his hands, though at rest in his lap, were large and powerful. Lania supposed they had to be strong, considering what they were capable of. It took approximately 520 pounds of force to crush a human skull, and he had done it. This was not the body of a man, but of a predator. He was _designed_ to kill, to rule; the primal yet advanced blood coursing through his veins demanded it.

As far as Lania understood, it was physically impossible for a human, maybe even for other alien species, to defeat him one-on-one in combat. That was why his guards were armed with the best technology, the newest weapons; it was why he wore a thin circlet around his neck, made of the toughest metal presently known to the universe. Lania wore its counterpart on her wrist: a small bracelet, modeled like a watch, to control it. If in danger, she could choose from an array of settings to cripple Khan, ranging from stunning him and knocking him unconscious to putting him in a coma, the latter, naturally, being advised only in extreme circumstances. As an added precaution, the collar also doubled as a tracking device. There was no reason for Lania to fear Khan, so why, in the deepest part of her mind, did she?

"Lania _Cygnus_ Vierin, I see no need for aliases. We are, after all, both aware of the truth." Khan's voice was viscous and heavy, and seemed to originate in his chest rather than in his vocal chords, as though Lania was feeling his heart speak directly to her.

Although she was inwardly surprised, there was no change of expression on her face. She thanked God that in the past year she had become extremely adept at keeping her emotions from showing on her face. "Very well, _Khan._ How is it that you have come to know my proper name?"

Lania's middle name held a special, almost sacred, significance to her. Her father had chosen it, and he alone called her that—he alone knew it. To hear it spoken aloud after so long a time pained Lania; to know that it was spoken by Khan disgusted her.

Khan hummed his displeasure. The deep vibration reached Lania easily, and the sensation gave her gooseflesh. "Oh, _Doctor, _you are not the only one capable of extensive research." _So that's what he was doing for the past three hours, _Lania mused. Khan's depthless eyes locked on Lania and would not release her. Her mind willed her to look away, but for her body that did not seem to be an option. "You have studied my files. Surely you are aware by now: I take what I desire." Khan's voice had dropped to a throaty mumble, and Lania strained to hear him.

She didn't like the ominous direction their conversation was taking, so she woke up her PADD from sleep mode and plugged in her earphones. _I'm not running away; I'm regrouping for a tactical advantage_, she told herself.

It appeared Khan had other plans. He began speaking again before Lania had a chance to start her music. Call it a hunch, but she didn't think it sensible to ignore him. "_Cygnus_," he breathed, tasting the name and rolling it around on his tongue like a meal to be savored.

_Don't get worked up._ He was trying to get under her skin, analyze her like she was doing to him. It was no big deal. When he said it, it was nothing but a name. He didn't know what it meant, couldn't comprehend the love it carried.

"A star cluster, encompassing the stars Deneb, Albireo, Sadr, Gienah Cygni, Azelfafage, and Ruchba. Best visible in September, and, unsurprisingly, that is your birth month."

Lania shoved her earbuds deeper into her ears and blasted her music with reckless abandon.

* * *

She could not antagonize him now; to do so would be asinine and a death wish. He could effortlessly take down the six guards, and then he would have her. Of course there was the collar, but while she was virtually alone on a plane with Khan was not the time to find out if it really worked or not. Lania was not in the habit of taking chances unless the odds were solidly in her favor. And why gamble on chance when in good time she would have her own opportunity to provoke him, to study all the information he let slip in his unbridled rage? All she needed to begin her work was a closed, stable environment. She could start running tests and compiling and reviewing data as soon as they boarded the _Enterprise_, but only when they reached Elias III did the real work begin.

For the moment, much as she hated it, Lania would simply have to placate Khan and accept that she was not going to get much out of him at present. There was nothing to do but stay level-headed and show no weakness. _If I can last the rest of this trip and the ceremony, I will be fine._

Lania got about a half hour of peace to clear her thoughts and calm herself before Khan decided it was time to aggravate her again. She could feel his eyes weighing heavily on her, trying to steal her attention. He would not cease, she knew, until he had what he wanted, so there was no point in wasting time denying him further. With a roll of her eyes, Lania turned off her music and glanced up at Khan.

Never would she confess that she was enamored with those eyes. They were the color of spring, after Jack Frost's arctic breath had blanketed everything in frost and frozen life itself. Perhaps their coldness was the result of 300 years of cryo-sleep, in which time his heart and mind had iced into a barren tundra, and his eyes were merely a reflection of the frigidity of heart and soul. All vibrancy and emotion was trapped in the ice-cap of those eyes, and only upon melting could they freely flow and be seen.

"Can I help you?" Lania said at last, shaking herself free of the gravity of his eyes.

"You already have." Khan leaned forward in his seat. "_Immensely._"

"Is that so? Do enlighten me." Lania knew perfectly well the subject to which he referred. It was inevitable that it would come up, but that did not prevent her from trying to evade it.

"Tell me, why did you allow me to live?"

Lania closed her eyes, exhaling slowly. Obviously she could not tell him the truth, that she owed him her life for making her who she was today, for ripping the rose-colored blindfold from her eyes and showing her how dark and cruel the world really was. What _did_ she tell him, then? Honesty would get her killed; lying alone would be ineffective against him.

Something Kirk had said at the trial suddenly popped into her mind. _He's manipulating you! Tricking you, twisting your thoughts! Mind games, that's what he does—turning lie into truth and fact into fiction. _Lania smirked. She had her idea.

"I grow impatient, Doctor." Khan, if possible, straightened even further in his seat, flexing his arms in an unspoken threat.

Lania prayed she didn't killed for what she was about to say. "I let you live not because your attempts to deceive me worked, but because I pitied you. You claim you are superior, yet you couldn't even properly destroy a few _inferior_ humans and save your crew. I thought living with your failure would be a more apt punishment than death, to wake every morning and know that your family is forever out of your reach."

By provoking Khan she hoped his anger would distract him and cloud his head so he would accept her lie. She wanted to use his savagery against him; without his intellect he was nothing but an unguided weapon lashing out blindly.

Other than tightening his grip on the arm rest, Khan showed no signs of disturbance. In fact, he looked amused. "Lying does not suit you, Doctor."

There was a look of unguarded, surprised fear on Lania's face. _How_ had he seen through her lie? Was she truly that transparent, or was it that Khan was simply too skilled at manipulation and mind games? The brimming confidence Lania had at the trial was gone; she suddenly felt out of her depth, drowning in the sheer colossality of her miscalculations.

Khan watched as Lania crumbled, smiling and devouring her growing terror with relish. "You are controlled not by your conscience, but by your own twisted sense of purpose. Otherwise, you would not have tolerated my deception. Your decision to allow me to live did not involve your conscience, for the _moral_ choice would have been to let me die." Khan chuckled, though the sound was more of a thunderous rumble than a laugh. "No, for you, Doctor, the choice was personal."

There was no denying it, not any longer. Khan was superior. She had never been able to keep up with him; she only believed it was so because Khan intended for it to appear that way. Lania thought her old self had been the naïve one, but, no, _she_ was the fool. God, why didn't she listen to Kirk?

Lania sat stonily still in her seat, offering no reply. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of watching her panic as well.

Khan, however, did not seem to mind continuing a one-sided conversation. "You have always been haunted by your past, haven't you, Doctor? Even while your parents were alive, you were tormented by the shadows of one _specific_ memory—tormented by the specters of _regret_. As long as you lived, you would _never_ be able to forget, to escape your past."

"You're wrong." Lania hissed. There was _no_ way he could know about . . . about _that_. How could he? He was just generalizing, making up lies at random and hoping for a reaction. That was the only logical explanation, or, rather, the only one Lania would accept. "The life I lived with my parents was as happy as it could have been."

"You were bound by your past, until I came along. That is why you granted me my life, because I killed your parents and freed you from the child you had been, freed you from the chains of your _failures_. You _thank_ me for what I did."

"No!" Lania started to shout, but her scream was cut short as the plane jolted violently, throwing her from her seat and sending her hurtling forward. She hit something solid, but she dared not move until the plane stopped shaking.

After a moment, the plane adjusted itself and everything was calm, save Lania's racing heart and mind. She tenderly opened her eyes and tried to reorient herself, but her vision was filled with nothing but darkness. She drew back her head from whatever firm substance it was pressed against and began to look around.

_Shit. _Lania's heart jumped to her throat in fright. She had been thrown against Khan. He was sitting on the edge of his seat, using his chest to cushion her head from the force of the impact, and his hands had a tight grip on her arms to keep her from being jostled around again in the aftershock.

"_Sorry, we had some turbulence." _the pilot's voice explained over the intercom.

Lania muttered an extremely awkward "thank you" to Khan, but he did not release her. Instead he leaned down until his mouth was beside her ear, then he whispered, "Was I correct?"

"Let me go." Lania snarled, twisting in his arms.

Khan only increased the strength of his grip, to the point where it began to hurt. The message was clear: Lania was not leaving until she answered the question.

"Security!" she shouted.

Khan didn't look at all worried. "Do you seem them?"

Lania frantically searched the perimeter for the men. Unfortunately, Khan was right. Not one of them was in sight.

"Their landing was not as fortuitous. Thrown to the other end of the plane, possibly unconscious . . ." his voice trailed off, and Lania shuddered as his implication hit her. She was alone with Khan.

When Lania still didn't answer his question, he applied pressure to her arms, squeezing them harder every second her silence continued. Her only response was an inaudible whimper.

"_Was I correct_?"

Lania screamed as she heard something pop. "Yes, you were right!" she cried out, struggling against his grip.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Cygnus." Khan released her from his hold and shoved her to the floor.

As much as she wanted to lie there, Lania fought against the pain and pushed herself upright. She said she wouldn't make him angry, but that didn't mean she'd accept his surly treatment of her. "Don't you _dare_ call me by that name." she spat, aiming a kick at his sneering face.

Khan effortlessly caught her leg before it could even near its destination. He pulled her roughly by the ankle until she rested on the floor at his feet.

Lania unsheathed a phaser and set it to heavy stun. She pointed it at his heart, using her left elbow to prop herself up and keep her shooting hand steady. She was no marksman, but all Academy cadets were required to learn how to use phasers; not even Lania could miss from this point-blank range. "You may be superhuman, but you are not invincible."

The Augment ignored her threat completely and rolled up her pants leg to expose one of her ankles. She shivered when his fingers made contact with her ankle. His touch was unexpectedly gentle, trailing over her skin like the ghost of a feather, but how long would it last? "There are infinitely many ways I can cause you pain, even using your ankle alone. Have you ever seen your own bones? Experienced the feeling of them piercing your skin and tearing open your flesh as they are ripped from your body?"

The doctor was spared a macabre death by the faint sound of footsteps coming toward them. _The guards!_

"There is always next time." Khan said, and dropped her leg. He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but he stepped over Lania and walked back to the front of the plane without another word.

The catharsis of his departure forced a heavy sigh from her lungs. It was a sigh of terror, yes, but also of relief, of _joy_. A wide smile broke out on Lania's face as she lay in the middle of the floor giggling to herself. _It worked! _As Khan had said, lying _didn't_ suit her, but _acting_ did. The idea had come to her when her first plan failed; it was a split second decision made on impulse, but it _worked_.

All this time, she had been approaching the problem the wrong way. She was trying to _hide_ her weakness when she should have been using it as an advantage. If Khan thought she was nothing but a weak, fantasizing child, then he would underestimate her and overlook her strengths. It was like the Trojan horse: she would hide her strength in her weaknesses, and Khan would never see it coming.

She had not fooled Khan because she was a good actor; no, her acting was as bad as her lying. Lania deceived him because she was not lying at all. The fear, the shock, the anger, it had all been real, but instead of bottling it up and locking it away, she released it—with a bit of dramatic exaggeration, of course.

"Doctor? Are you okay?"

Lania looked up at the six worried faces standing over her, unable to contain her happiness from bubbling over into a smile. "I am quite okay. Better than okay, in fact."

The Doctor dusted herself off and returned to her seat. The guards lingered for a moment to assure themselves that she was fine, and then left her alone. Although her usual apathetic mask was now pasted back onto her face, in her mind Lania could only think one thing, over and over: _I outsmarted Khan! _Maybe she did have a chance at this, after all.

* * *

It was one o'clock in the morning by the time the plane landed in San Francisco. Lania didn't sleep at all during the flight—how could she, knowing that Khan was somewhere nearby?—for fear that she wouldn't wake up again. She hadn't seen him anymore after the turbulence incident, thank God.

Lania had forgotten how beautiful San Francisco was, especially at night. Khan was in a separate car with the other three guards, so she was free to observe the sleeping city undisturbed as they drove to the hotel. The cool February breeze blowing in through the open window was nice, but what Lania really loved was the stars. They shined with a clarity that constant cloud cover in London made impossible, scintillating and winking at her as if they were welcoming her home. It was a night her father wouldn't have missed for the world. They would have camped out in the backyard, viewing the stars through a telescope, seeing who could correctly name the most, snapping pictures and joking and laughing. And after they got tired, they'd lie together in the grass and sleep until morning, when the millions of stars in the sky were replaced with one.

A single tear coursed down the planes of Lania's face, illuminated in its descent by the light of the stars. The tear sparkled dimly, almost as though she were crying stardust. _Well, Dad, you're where you always wanted to be. Among the stars. _

Lania wiped the tear from her cheek and held her hand out the window, allowing the wind to carry away her tears. She wished her sadness could as easily fade away, but she knew not even the millions of stars in the sky had the power to make that wish come true.

Lania was in for a crude surprise when they arrived at the hotel. The room was finely furnished and plenty spacious, but she was sharing it with Khan _and_ the guards. Sure, they allowed Khan and Lania to have the two beds in the room, and sure there was more than enough space for everyone, but Lania needed privacy! The balcony with a grandiose view of the sky appeased Lania slightly, but she still wasn't happy about the living arrangements. Wesley would definitely be receiving a chewing out at the ceremony tomorrow.

The doctor set her bags down on the bed by the door (If Khan tried to murder her in her sleep, Lania wanted to have an exit close by.) and began exploring the room while she waited for the other group's car to arrive. She found a note on the dining room table accompanied by a chocolate chip muffin. She didn't have to guess that they were from Wesley, or, more technically, from his secretary.

_Lania, I hope your flight with the mass-murderer psychotic terrorist went well. _

Lania snorted, barely holding back her laughter. That man was an idiot.

_I do apologize about there being only one room, but renting rooms for everyone would have been wasteful, since you're only sleeping there tonight. Besides, it's safer for you that way. You have all six guards on hand at any given time in case Khan tries to crush your skull. I'll see you tomorrow at your graduation. It starts at 12 P.M. sharp, so don't be late!_

_XOXO,_

_Wesley._

Lania smiled to herself. With her parents dead, Wesley tried to fill in the role of parental figure as best he could, and she was eternally grateful for that. Wesley was all she had left now; she was never particularly close to her grandparents, or to the rest of her family, and because she hadn't been in London long before her parents died, she didn't have many friends either.

She put the note back on the table as the door slid open to let in Khan and the rest of the guards.

"I'm going down to the café for a while," Lania told the security team. "Make sure Khan doesn't leave the room."

She grabbed the door key off the bedside table and slid out into the hall.

Khan did not have to wait long for the guards to settle down and doze off. Their hopelessly inferior bodies were slowed down by the effects of jet lag, and Khan knew for a fact that they had not slept on the plane. Within minutes they were all ignorantly asleep. Khan slipped the other door key into his jacket pocket and followed the doctor downstairs. He had gathered plenty of potentially useful information from their interaction today, but it was extracted using fear and force. Khan needed to see how she behaved under normal circumstances, and for that he needed to _observe_.

* * *

**Author's Note: So that's the end of the first part of "A Star to Steer Her By." A terrible place to cut the chapter, I know, but I'm already over my word cap limit. Lania's a clever little doctor, isn't she? The first time I wrote this chapter I didn't have her outsmarting Khan, but when I typed it up and edited on the computer, she just kind of . . . took off and did her own thing. I liked it, so I just made some adjustments and left it. **

**On another note, I'm almost to 50 followers! (This is a big deal for me; the most I've ever had for a story was like 10, haha.) Thank you all for being such amazing readers! Please leave me a review and let me know what you think about how Khan and Lania turned out, or just the chapter or the story in general, etc. Oh, and before I forget, I just wanted to let you know that I'll try my best to update as quickly and as often as I can (maybe about once a week), but if I don't update for a while it's because I've gotten writers block or am busy enjoying summer before school starts again. The thought of school makes me cry. Well, that's it, see you next update!**


	4. Author's Note

Author's Note: I know you probably all hate me for not updating, but I got really busy this summer and before I knew it, school had started. I'm still rather busy actually, but I didn't want my readers to think I was dead or something. Basically I'm posting this to see if I should even bother continuing this story. I lost interest with it for a little while and had major writer's block, but now that the Into Darkness DVD has come out (yay!), I'm interested in this story again. _But_, I need to know if you guys want me to continue writing this or not, so please leave me a review and let me know what you think about the story and/or if you want me to keep writing. This is by no means a way just to get reviews, I just don't want to waste my time writing this if no one's going to read it because I could be using that time to write other fanfictions. If you like this story though and want to keep reading it, then of course I'll be happy to keep writing it for you guys even though I'm in school now. If I end up continuing this story, you can expect chapter updates maybe every two weeks, give or take depending on a) my schedule and b) how quickly I get the rest of the story planned out. So I guess that's about it, and I hope to hear from you soon!


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